Two MLS players banned for life for betting on games

Former Major League Soccer players Yaw Yeboah and Derrick Jones received lifetime bans for betting on MLS matches -- including their own -- the league announced Monday.

Yeboah, 28, most recently played for LAFC in 2025 and is a former teammate of Jones with the Columbus Crew. Both were placed on administrative leave last October while awaiting league review of potential MLS rules violations.

MLS hired the law firm Patterson Belknap Webb & Tyler LLP to investigate after the league received suspicious betting alerts through integrity partners. The law firm found that Jones and Yeboah "engaged in extensive gambling on soccer, including on their own teams, during the 2024 and 2025 seasons."

During a match on Oct. 19, 2024, between the Crew and the New York Red Bulls, both players wagered on Jones receiving a yellow card, which occurred in the 35th minute due to a foul. According to the league, it "determined that the players likely shared confidential information with other bettors about their intent to draw yellow cards."

MLS added that there was "no evidence that was identified that suggested any of these betting activities affected the outcome of a match."

MLS has been successful with removing yellow and red cards as part of betting opportunities in jurisdictions that allow betting. Of the 52 jurisdictions in the United States (including Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico), 41 allow betting. Of those 41, 33 do not allow betting on cards, including 15 who changed their rules after the league reached out, per an MLS spokesperson.

The league also requires players to undergo training on its gambling policy, and they then sign an agreement certifying they have completed the training.

"Major League Soccer remains steadfast in its commitment to match integrity," MLS commissioner Don Garber said in a statement. "The league will continue to enforce its policies, enhance education efforts, and advocate for the elimination of yellow card wagering in all states to protect the integrity of our competition for clubs, players, and fans."

Yeboah is playing for Qingdao Hainiu in China and scored a goal in his debut this past weekend. The midfielder won an MLS Cup and Leagues Cup as a member of the Crew. In 91 MLS games (46 starts), with LAFC and Columbus, he totaled five goals and nine assists from 2022-25.

Jones, also a midfielder, played for Philadelphia, Nashville, Houston, Charlotte and Columbus from 2017-25, compiling one goal and five assists over 131 games (67 starts).

Yeboah and Jones are not the first MLS players to receive lifetime bans. In 2021, MLS suspended Sporting Kansas City's Felipe Hernandez, then terminated his contract three years later for placing bets on league matches.

--Field Level Media